11/21/2017
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released a follow-up report on the Benton County Public Administrator, whose office received the lowest possible rating of "poor" in a report issued in April 2017. Issues included the appearance of conflicts of interest related to the public administrator's family members providing services to wards in her care, as well as concerns with organization and timeliness.
"Conflicts of interest have no place in public office," Auditor Galloway said. "I am encouraged by the Benton County Public Administrator's attempts to implement my staff's suggestions for protecting wards under the administrator's care."
Auditor Galloway found in April that the public administrator allowed the sale of a ward's vehicle to her family business without the approval of a judge. The follow-up review found the public administrator now seeks the judge's approval and an authorizing court order of any transactions that could present a conflict of interest. For example, the review found one ward's financial activity showed a payment to the public administrator's family business, but included an approving court order from the circuit judge on the transaction.
Steps have also been taken to correct deficient monitoring of wards' financial activity, which previously caused 11 wards to incur bank overdraft fees totaling $370. The public administrator now monitors bank accounts and ensures that automatic deposits have cleared before any disbursements are issued.
The review also found annual settlement and status report filings are now submitted accurately and on time.
In total, auditors identified 10 areas of concern to evaluate during the follow-up review. Eight recommendations were implemented and progress has been made for two other recommendations.
A complete progress report is available online here.
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